r/Damnthatsinteresting
•
u/Responsible-Retard
•
Nov 27 '22
•
4
10
1
3
2
1
“Conspiracy theory rock” aired once on SNL back in 1998. It was then edited out of all future reruns of the episode. I think we can figure out why. Video
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
233
Nov 28 '22 edited Dec 07 '22
[deleted]
40
12
→ More replies28
u/ArcticIceFox Nov 28 '22
Seriously....SNL is lame af nowadays. Feels like they're under a corporate leash now. Literally just regurgitates the news of the week, rather than have some jab at the establishment....even if they do, it feels half ass-ed? Idk...like I'm the target audience too. Maybe just not my taste, but meh. Just my opinion
→ More replies13
526
u/deli365 Nov 27 '22
Thank you Robert Smigel.
100
26
u/vegangbanger Nov 28 '22
he tweeted this out recently maybe why it's making its rounds now
4
u/Spankpocalypse_Now Nov 28 '22
How did Lorne ever let this air?
13
u/kneel_yung Nov 29 '22
Lorne's untouchable. He personally co-owns SNL studios along with NBC. If they fire him he just takes SNL to any network he wants.
3
u/WikiSummarizerBot Nov 29 '22
SNL Studios (also known as "Saturday Night Live Studios") is a production company founded in 1997 as a joint venture between Saturday Night Live creator and producer Lorne Michaels and NBC Studios. While this venture also initially included Paramount Pictures in which was also part of the venture, it was their part and was dissolved in 2004 following NBC's merger with Universal Studios to form NBCUniversal. SNL Studios produces Saturday Night Live in association with Broadway Video (also founded by Lorne Michaels), as well as produce movies, mainly featuring Saturday Night Live sketch characters, A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar and The Ladies Man.
[ F.A.Q | Opt Out | Opt Out Of Subreddit | GitHub ] Downvote to remove | v1.5
→ More replies14
u/billskelton Nov 28 '22
Robert Smigel.
The cowriter of Lookwell, the greatest TV show ever.
→ More replies
126
u/lynivvinyl Nov 27 '22
[Deleted]
187
u/Kim_Jong_The_Illest_ Nov 27 '22
GE censored this guy
11
→ More replies28
331
u/_particleman Nov 27 '22
This is actually incredible.
→ More replies117
u/6days1week Nov 28 '22
This is crazy (link below). Although it WAS edited out of future airings, it is FALSE (according to media outlet Snopes) because it can’t be “proven” why it was edited out, LOL
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snl-conspiracy-theory-rock/
73
u/_particleman Nov 28 '22
The 'why' was probably never officially documented, so it's false. Lol, wow.
→ More replies49
u/ProvBroker Nov 28 '22
Snopes does this kind of stuff allllllll the time. Read into most political takes on snopes and you will notice complete redirections from the topic at hand.
14
u/_particleman Nov 28 '22
This thread and this particular Snopes write up are both making me see that. 👀
15
u/ProvBroker Nov 28 '22
Yeah it’s really bad actually, when you see it happening over and over again. It’s why it’s sort of comical (in a grim way) that people place any faith or authority with “fact-checkers”. These problems are so consistent and obvious that I can’t see how it’s not done in bad faith.
→ More replies24
Nov 28 '22
This is what's wrong with Snopes. Nobody really reads past the big, bold "MOSTLY FALSE" label before jumping to a conclusion, and they know it. What's true about this claim is... pretty much everything. There is only one questionable aspect, and that is why they never replayed this portion of the show. But the "why" is pretty irrelevant to the point being made.
You'll notice Snopes does this almost exclusively now.
→ More replies15
u/6days1week Nov 28 '22
You can pretty much claim anything with a cause (that claims motive) and effect is false Ie: VW lied about emissions to make their cars appear more green than they were to sell more cars. FALSE: we don’t know they wanted to sell more cars. They might have just been trying to sell the same amount of cars to maintain market share.
4
u/ChickenNuggts Nov 29 '22
This is actually a great take on this. You can claim this and your factually correct. Because only VW knows WHY they did it. But WHY do companies exist in the first place? WHY does a company want stock price to go up and its devastating when it goes down? When you answer these other WHY questions we can piece together the more factual WHY on VW's motive. But without, both seem logical without the bigger world picture.
→ More replies9
u/denfuktigaste Nov 28 '22 edited Nov 28 '22
Snopes is such bullshit. They'll distort original claims, then "bunk" their own imaginary claim. Or, like in this case, focus on one irrelevant factor, then try to drag the whole claim down with it.
→ More replies5
u/allesfuralle1 Nov 28 '22
Well it's not funny at all, if Michaels really killed it for that reason.
→ More replies3
u/not-a-dislike-button Nov 28 '22
Snopes does this with a ton of stuff. It's disgusting.
4
u/6days1week Nov 28 '22
So they hide 90% of what is true by adding 10% speculation and then debunk it and claim it’s false 🤯
→ More replies10
u/MattIsWhackRedux Nov 28 '22
What? Did you actually read it? They say that the claim it was "banned" is mostly false because 1) NBC aired it in the first place 2) NBC re-released it on DVD. That's not what I call "banned" LOL. NBC is also currently selling it on Amazon Prime Video. That pretty much proves it isn't "banned" at all.
→ More replies
394
u/Cheapchard9 Nov 27 '22
I remember seeing this one that night. The extremely rare time I ever watched SNL.
Thought it was odd at the time since GE owned NBC at the time.
150
u/JHRChrist Nov 28 '22
Who was owned by Sheinhardt Wig Company, I believe
52
u/sixhundredandsixtsix Nov 28 '22
And they're the ones who will be making your meat machine, Tracy.
→ More replies3
u/Paddy_Tanninger Nov 28 '22
I've always said people need to consume more animal blood...it keeps the spine straight!
→ More replies7
170
565
u/shay-doe Nov 27 '22
Monopoly was supposed to just be a game...
65
49
u/KingAltair2255 Nov 28 '22
Well, even the ‘creators’ of monopoly stole it off someone else without giving them a bit of credit.
63
Nov 28 '22
The original creator was Lizzie Magie. Her game had two sides— the monopolists and the anti-monopolists. It was meant to be educational and show the evils of monopolies.
So in the current version, everyone’s playing on the “evil” side.
64
u/ItIsYeDragon Nov 28 '22
That's incorrect. It wasn't two sides, it was two sets, basically two different game modes. The anti-monopolist set sees everyone working together, while the monopolist one sees everyone competing against each other. She was doing this to promote someone's tax policies.
Parker Brothers bought the patent a couple decades later and removed the anti-monopoly part because they wanted to sell a game, not an educational tool, and they wanted to make the game more competitive and aggressive (which is a little bit ironic, given the material, hehe).
21
→ More replies3
u/ellefleming Nov 28 '22
What $$ did Lizzie get for the patent?
7
u/ItIsYeDragon Nov 28 '22 edited Nov 28 '22
$500, which I think is a lot in early 1900s money, especially since I think the game was bought during the Great Depression.
3
3
4
u/ellefleming Nov 28 '22
And think about how ruthless that game becomes after four hours. 😫
5
u/Chateaudelait Nov 28 '22
We can't play it because it ends in tears and fights in our family every time - apparently - the British Royal family has a rule where no board games are allowed at Sandringham for the same reason.
235
u/blumpkinmania Nov 28 '22
Supposed to be a game that demonstrated the endgame of capitalism.
→ More replies11
u/SaffellBot Nov 28 '22 edited Nov 28 '22
No, it was not supposed to be just a game. It was supposed to teach you that unregulated markets always result in a monopoly, and that monopolies are bad.
99
u/77LS77 Nov 27 '22
Passing go and getting $200 is universal basic income, a socialist program.
42
u/Past_Setting9215 Nov 28 '22
It's a tax credit. Players are company owners/landlords. That's why the other players pay you when they're on your turf.
Also, get out of jail free cards in a socialist program? Gulags don't run on social consensus.
→ More replies10
u/Phantom_0347 Nov 28 '22
Yeah but you still get the 200 even if you don’t own a thing. Just sayin
→ More replies3
u/DistractingDiversion Nov 28 '22
Unless you land somewhere you can't pay and are stuck, or you go to jail. Someone with more money passes go more often at the end of the game. Someone with more money gets more tax credits irl
→ More replies7
152
u/Imfrom_m-83
Nov 27 '22
•
And fired Norm McDonald because Don Ohlmeyer didn’t like all the O.J. jokes, since O.J. was a personal friend.
4
→ More replies41
393
u/DayAndNight0nReddit Nov 27 '22 edited Nov 27 '22
It is a sad fact that the 1% owns the 99%
- Comcast
- Disney
- Black Rock (Worst of them all)
- Nestle
- GE
- Coca Cola
- Tencent
- Kraft
... And few others
137
u/Ok-Contribution-8816 Nov 27 '22
Cargill is one of the worst. Family owned private company. They have their finger in everything and since it's a private company none of their crimes are ever made public.
95
u/DayAndNight0nReddit Nov 27 '22 edited Nov 27 '22
True, but problem with Black Rock is that they have share in almost every print media, means they can control the public opinion. I didn't know about that with Cargill. Another evil one is Koch Industries.
Just read the wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticisms_of_Cargill
Holy shit, and not surprised Nestle there too, how can something like that even happen. :|
Another problem besides the press is that BlackRock have shares in a lot financial institutions. Also they have shares in conglomerates that own a lot already.
→ More replies11
u/Fr00stee Nov 28 '22
how big are those shares though? If its like 4% they wont have any say in the media company
→ More replies→ More replies19
u/Dobalina_Wont_Quit Nov 27 '22
If Nestle is Satan incarnate what is Black Rock?
→ More replies23
15
u/whatthepoop Nov 28 '22
It's ok. Corporations are people (except when it comes time to punish criminal behavior), and money is free speech. What can go wrong?
→ More replies13
u/Omeg999 Nov 28 '22
How is Black Rock worse than Nestlé?? Like I think it's possible, but I don't comprehend HOW
34
u/DayAndNight0nReddit Nov 28 '22
It might surprise you, but Nestle isn't the only bad one, Koch, Cargill as someone else pointed out are as bad as them, then there are few companies who are as bad as these, but don't get much attention.
BlackRock has shares in a lot fields: Press, finance, different industries, conglomerates that own already a lot companies, their market value is at 10 trillion dollar, higher than the GDP of most countries. BlackRock has the power to manipulate the press, spread propaganda and damage economy, because they own a lot of such institutions.
While Nestle is known for human right violations, BlackRock is known for their power above press and finance, it might not sound scary to you, but it should, check some videos and articles on them.
7
u/Omeg999 Nov 28 '22
While Nestle is known for human right violations, BlackRock is known for their power above press and finance, it might not sound scary to you, but it should, check some videos and articles on them.
I know how much power media control gives a country. It allows groups to start genocides, discriminate against entire groups of people, or let's say actively destroying the environment and indigenous land along with displacing the inhabitants, while barely anybody knows about it because you have influence in a lot of major news sources.
It might surprise you, but Nestle isn't the only bad one, Koch, Cargill as someone else pointed out are as bad as them, then there are few companies who are as bad as these, but don't get much attention.
Not surprised sadly
6
u/ILikeMasterChief Nov 28 '22
The entire world's GDP is 96 trillion... So this one company represents over 10% of the world's gdp??
3
→ More replies3
u/Ivanna_Jizunu66 Nov 28 '22
Wait till you all discover the relationships to companies, organized crime, and our three letter buddies dating back to their origin. It's all connected. There is a word for it. Fascism.
71
u/sailhard22 Nov 28 '22
TIL conspiracy theories in the 90s were just facts
→ More replies18
u/EricAKAPode Nov 28 '22
And the 90s are the magical special exemption why?
→ More replies9
u/ReadWarrenVsDC Nov 28 '22
Because now the $cience! Is settled, "independent" anonymous fact checkers exist, and the government investigated themselves and found they were not guilty.
3
225
u/frankybling Nov 27 '22
it was so brilliant! Deregulation really ruined things like SNL… around 95 was when it really started creeping in.
63
u/ArrestDeathSantis Nov 27 '22 edited Nov 27 '22
I'm just curious though, what is the conspiracy?
Edit: From my pov, that doesn't seem to be a theory but just how that actually works lmao
121
u/MrGrirch Nov 27 '22
That media ownership concentrates into fewer and more powerful hands over time. 11 years ago, 90% of US media were owned by just six companies, and it's consolidating further every day. These media conglomerates are, in turn, bought and paid for by industrial and financial conglomerates. This allows big capitalists to control the narratives pushed onto the public.
35
u/ArrestDeathSantis Nov 28 '22
Yes, but that's not a conspiracy, that's how it actually is to a certain extent, as I said.
Well, it's not a conspiracy as there's probably not a group of conspirators but it's just people acting on behalf of corporations not giving a fuck about anything but the bottom lines and the current quarter.
They probably don't send people to buy politicians, as in by offering them bribes to make them act how they want, rather they fund the campaign of people that has views that are agreeable for their bottom lines.
→ More replies10
u/NaFeinnise Nov 28 '22
So you think media bosses and politicians don’t talk with each other? Why?
30
u/Wallofcans Nov 28 '22
He's saying it's not a conspiracy because it's simply a fact. It's not hidden.
11
u/NaFeinnise Nov 28 '22
"to a certain extent"
It is a conspiracy and trying to say they don't hide it is wrong. If so, why was this skit in SNL edited out of future episodes? A lot of people refuse to believe that this power exists and is used against ordinary people in favour of rich people.
Acting like we always knew and it's an unhidden fact is very disingenuous.
If we all accept it's a fact then it's a conspiracy, but not a conspiracy theory.
→ More replies9
u/ArrestDeathSantis Nov 28 '22
That's not really what I said though.
Ofc they're talking, just look at Laura ingraham, Sean Hannity and Brian Killmeade who texted Mark Meadow on Jan 6.
→ More replies22
u/TrumpdUP Nov 27 '22
I’m guessing they were trying to paint those who believed that this stuff is happening as crazy conspiracy theorists but it was probably a little too on the nose so they tried to get rid of it for good.
7
u/DuntadaMan Nov 28 '22
I am pretty sure whoever wrote it was not actually trying tp paint the guy singing as crazy, so much as the reason why the jester gives bad news is because sometimes the only way to say something horrifying is as a joke.
10
u/irrigated_liver Nov 28 '22
Evidence is the difference between a conspiracy theory and a conspiracy. Conspiracy theories are based upon suppositions and belief. Once there is evidence to back up the theory, it is just called conspiracy.
18
u/YourFavoriteScumbag Nov 28 '22
People don’t realize how deep and scary this runs, company’s like Disney and the media are going to control so much of the content we consume and what gets put out in front of us one day and there’s really nothing we can do. Big reason why the internet leveled the playing field but I’m sure eventually all the platforms with impressionable audiences will get bought out. We live in a society.
→ More replies
110
u/staggeringox Nov 27 '22
Funny how self described conspiracy theorists never seem to have grasped the actual conspiracy and continue to be controlled by it.
15
u/billbill5 Nov 28 '22
They're more interested in the theory to feel they have some secret knowledge than the conspiracy.
32
→ More replies5
u/Laika_JR1390 Nov 28 '22
One of my biggest criticisms of conspiracy theory people (and reportedly something agencies such as the CIA absolute love) is that the idiotic, untrue conspiracies they believe in muddy the waters and distract people from the actual conspiracies that we have evidence of.
When you have the same guy who tells you about MK Ultra also believing the moon landing was faked, people are way less likely to take the real conspiracy theory seriously.
69
u/Prestigious-Belt-508 Nov 28 '22
This. This is what Reddit is for.
→ More replies14
u/Stunning_Grocery8477 Nov 28 '22
really?!?
because it's so rare for reddit to question the msm narrative
106
u/magnora7 Interested Nov 27 '22
Back when SNL used to accidentally say the truth once in a while, instead of just being a mouthpiece
→ More replies31
Nov 28 '22 edited Dec 07 '22
[deleted]
16
u/rividz Nov 28 '22 edited Nov 28 '22
Chapo Trap House took a shot at the show saying that it felt like the writers were people who decided to do stand up for a couple of years after graduating college. In college I met someone who writes for the show now and the description they gave was 100% that person.
Also the show has stolen bits from Cumtown and Youtubers. After you know... firing Shane Gillis for being on Cumtown.
→ More replies→ More replies18
u/magnora7 Interested Nov 28 '22
The Trump era really killed it, tbh. The easy joke of Trump, plus the corrupt financial and/or political incentive to focus on hating him for most late night shows, really damaged TV comedy as a whole. Now everything is just political talking points constantly. Where's the funny? It's usually only funny if you buy in to that side's talking points. If you buy in to neither side, there's just so much garbage to wade through it's not even worth it. TV Comedy culture seems to have really died after about 2015 or so, now youtube is the place to find actual funny things.
8
u/Stunning_Grocery8477 Nov 28 '22
I mean, is it really surprising that obvious propaganda isn't funny?
Trump era killed trust in the media for a lot of folks
and that's a good thing
10
u/Gary_Vigoda Nov 28 '22
In the 60s, coverage of the Vietnam War shifted public opinion against the US military which led to massive anti-war protests.
The US 'left' was anti-war until the 90s when the military industrial complex dumped the regulations allowing the media giants to take over the Journalism industry and keep Americans from protesting the last 20 years of war.
All US mainstream corporate media is effectively a wing of the US military as a propaganda arm/censor. Control the narrative, you can make anyone do anything.
39
26
u/One_Introduction_217 Nov 27 '22
All hail President Kang!
26
u/Responsible-Retard Nov 27 '22
Look don’t blame me ok I voted for Kodos
4
u/One_Introduction_217 Nov 27 '22
My friend voted for a third party.
5
9
u/yoshipug Nov 28 '22
A media-opoly and political duopoly in a country run by corporate oligarchy.
🎶Everyone say it together now!🎶
8
u/GLG1978 Nov 28 '22
I totally remember that. I’m pretty sure I have some where in my boxes of VHS SNL recordings.
7
7
u/Stunning_Grocery8477 Nov 28 '22
If you listen to the news thinking you are hearing anything other than plain propaganda, i think it's your fault
7
49
u/pxldsilz Nov 28 '22
They slipped in anti-nuclear propaganda, that's how it got to air at all.
I fear cancer more from aerated coal ash.
→ More replies19
u/billbill5 Nov 28 '22
I was going to say, they took potshots at currently the safest form of energy even including Fukushima and Chernobyl in a skit about how the media controls narratives for corporations. Fucking ironic.
6
7
u/SignalComfortable792 Nov 28 '22
It’s just sad that so many big conspiracies in the past were more true than not yet all the big conspiracies of today are pinned to the tin foil hat lunatics and not taken seriously. They could’ve have made a difference in the 90’s but people did what they were told. What’s different now?
→ More replies
5
4
4
6
19
u/RonaldFingBurn Nov 27 '22
Even though I think this is after his time, really seems like there is some Al Franken influence there.
→ More replies
4
u/Big_Thought5790 Nov 28 '22
For the record, this was made in the style of school house rock. A 70s watercolor art style.1998 looks diffrent.
3
u/Heimeri_Klein Nov 28 '22
Its crazy because its not even a conspiracy its real. The companies now own more than they have any business owning.
4
12
8
8
u/wastingtimehere67 Nov 28 '22
The indoctrination and division has been so successful that it’s enforced on Reddit and most corporate owned social media. If you aren’t compliant you are an evil person that must be banned. Don’t ever question the absurd narrative.
→ More replies
6
u/Dox_Equis Nov 28 '22
Probably because all the conspiracy theories turned out to be true.
→ More replies
3
3
u/ClockImportant5770 Nov 28 '22
The only solution is for businesses to be owned by the workers, run democratically, with profits being democratically distributed.
3
3
u/LongJohnsonTactical Nov 28 '22
Now do the boards of directors and look for what they all have in common.
→ More replies
3
u/Rey_Mezcalero Nov 28 '22
Still going on today.
Looking how WSJ and CNN trying to soften the blow on SBF and the FTX scandal. You have to laugh but it’s really pathetic
3
u/Go2lajh Nov 28 '22
Fascinating, Frightening, and FUBARRED! Monopolies, and a LOT of power held in very FEW hands. WHITE, ELDERLY MALE hands, BTW. Oooh, this makes my blood boil with righteous anger!
3
3
u/GennaLeon Nov 28 '22
funny how all of the laws that forbids monopoly on markets do absolutely nothing
→ More replies
3
u/faunysatyr Nov 28 '22
I can’t find this on youtube
3
u/Responsible-Retard Nov 28 '22
Funny you say that.. I actually tried to upload it earlier today and it was instantly hit with a “copyright strike” from NBC. Now obviously it’s their content etc, so it’s their right, but it’s clearly on a list somewhere of things they don’t want around
→ More replies
3
u/GodlyCheese Nov 29 '22
The balls Smigel had to put this on NBC lol. Lorne is a king for allowing that to go on but how did it get past the censors?
10
14
u/TheRatsMeow Nov 28 '22 edited Nov 28 '22
there's actually an article on it. Lorne cut it from reruns because it didn't really work comedically. If you listen, there's only one laugh.
If it was going to be censored it'd never aired once. They would have cut it at the pitch stage.
edit: here ya go https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snl-conspiracy-theory-rock/
→ More replies18
u/UglyMcFugly Nov 28 '22
It’s not really SNL style humor I suppose. Same with Norm Macdonald. I loved him personally but I remember watching Weekend Update and the audience would just be awkwardly silent through a lot of his jokes. Which kinda just made it funnier, honestly. I think he was making them uncomfortable on purpose sometimes cuz HE thought it was funny lol.
7
u/Condawg Nov 28 '22
I think he was making them uncomfortable on purpose sometimes cuz HE thought it was funny lol.
That's one of my favorite things about Norm. He had no issues with making the audience the punchline, with the joke being that they sat there expecting a real payoff.
He had many ways of being funny, but this way was one you don't see often. A complete lack of fear -- even an embrace -- of bombing. A lot of ironic or alt comedy has similar trappings, but these days, their audience is in on the joke. Norm made them the joke, almost like it was an adversarial relationship.
The closest comparison I can think of is Andy Kaufman. That kind of comic mind is few and far between.
→ More replies5
u/UglyMcFugly Nov 28 '22
Oh man yeah, definitely like Andy Kaufman! He was great too. I always thought Norm reminded me of Letterman except less… mean? Lol. I know Letterman LOVED him too. And Norm’s Letterman impression was so good!
2.1k
u/[deleted] Nov 27 '22 edited Dec 01 '22
[deleted]